If you’ve never used a 3D printer before, it can seem like a complex and daunting activity. Some people want to try it but feel like it’s too much to learn. It’s true that there is a lot to learn, but it’s a hands-on learning experience, and not as difficult as it seems.
So how hard is it to learn how 3D print? It should take just a few weeks of printing to get to know your 3D printer, learn how to use slicer software, learn how best to support your prints, and how to maintain your printer.
As a beginner you’re bound to run into some obstacles at first, so it helps to have some guidance from someone with experience. This article will help guide you through some of the things you’ll need to know to get started with 3D printing, and show you that it’s not too difficult.
Types of 3D Printers
The first thing to understand is what kind of 3D printer you have. When most people think of a 3D printer, they think of what’s called an FDM, or Fused Deposition Modeling, printer. This kind of printer uses a spool of plastic filament, heats it up, and extrudes it in layers to form the print. It has 3 axes of motion, usually controlled by stepper motors, belts, and screws.
There is another kind of 3D printer that is becoming more popular for it’s ability to print in super high detail, and that is the resin 3D printer. These printers use either SLA or DLP technology. SLA stands for stereolithography and DLP stands for digital light processing. They both use a liquid resin that cures when exposed to certain wavelengths of light, but SLA uses a laser while DLP uses a digital screen. This type of printing has a much different process than FDM printing, and can be a bit messier due to the liquid resin.
In terms of difficulty to learn, I would say that resin printers are actually slightly easier to learn how to print with. They are usually simpler in that they only have one axis of motion, which is up and down. An FDM printer has 3 axes of motion and therefore many more motors and moving parts, so there is much more that can go wrong. FDM printers also have many different kinds of filaments that you can choose from, which each have their own specific temperatures and print settings that work best for them. As compared to resin printers where the resin only really differs in color.
This isn’t to say that resin printers are very easy to learn how to use, because they have their own unique challenges. Like I said earlier, they can be very messy and the photosensitive resin is quite toxic, so you need to learn how to handle it safely. The post processing and cleaning up is probably the most difficult part, but maintenance is much simpler in my opinion with a resin printer.
Getting to Know Your Printer
Every 3D printer is different, and they come in varying degrees of quality and ease of use. Cheaper printers usually don’t have as many automated functions, so you’ll have to learn how to do more things by hand, like leveling the print bed. One benefit of buying a cheaper printer though, specifically one that comes in the form of a kit, is that you get to assemble it yourself. Putting together your 3D printer piece by piece will help you to understand each component and how they work together. Being familiar with every piece of your printer will help later on when things inevitably wear out.
This isn’t to say that you’re at a disadvantage if your printer came fully assembled. In fact this lets you start printing sooner so that you can get experience right away. Even if your printer comes with automatic functions, you should still be able to understand what those functions are doing. More advanced printers will have more settings and functions that you can adjust from the printer’s control panel, so be sure to go through and get familiar with all of them.
Learning How to Slice
A big part of learning how to 3D print is learning how to use a slicer software. Basically a slicer program will take a 3D object file and slice it into layers and steps that your printer will understand as instructions. There are many different slicer programs out there, and many come specifically designed for certain printers. While each one is different, they all have certain things in common. They all adjust things like print speed, extruder temperature, print bed temperature, and other things.
Most slicers will have preset default settings for the material that you’re going to print with, whether that’s PLA, ABS, or resin. If you stick to those default settings, your prints will probably be just fine, which makes it very easy for beginners. However, as you get more involved with 3D printing, you’ll learn that different filaments each have their own unique characteristics and settings that are optimal for them. At first you probably won’t need to adjust any of the print settings if you don’t want to, but eventually it can be helpful.
Some slicer software programs allow you to adjust a huge number of settings, which can be daunting for beginners, but just be aware that you don’t need to adjust everything. Those options are there just in case you need them, which might never happen. The basics of print settings, like print speed, extruder temperature, layer height, and things like that are all fairly simple and easy to understand.
Supports
Some prints that have steep overhangs will require a support structure to be printed underneath them to prevent collapse. Because 3D printers print one layer at a time, these supports need to be planned out before the print begins so that when the printer reaches the spot where they are needed, all of the structure will be there. Most slicer programs will have an auto-support feature that calculates overhangs and places support where it’s needed, so it’s usually not a problem for beginners.
Sometimes, however, the software can make mistakes. It might not put enough support, and the print can collapse before it reaches the support. Other times there might be so much support that it will increase the print time drastically, even if the piece doesn’t require much support. There are some cases where support structures can even be placed so that they fuse with the piece, making it very difficult to remove them and possibly ruining the final print.
Learning how, where, and when to place supports can take some time, and usually some failed attempts. It depends also on the complexity of the part that you’re printing. Some pieces are a lot trickier than others. It requires some forethought and time to get used to, but once you understand the properties of the filament that you’re working with, it should become second nature.
Maintenance
Maintenance on a 3D printer starts from the very beginning. Before you print your first piece you have to learn how your printer is supposed to function and make sure that it is in good working order. The complexity and learning curve of maintaining your printer depends on the model that you’re using, but most of the time setup is covered thoroughly in the printer’s user manual. Generally speaking, it’s mostly a matter of making sure that the frame is secure, that all moving parts are well lubricated, and that all belts are taut. A 3D printer can seem like a complicated machine at first, but once you understand how it all works together then it becomes much simpler.
Even the most expensive 3D printers aren’t bomb-proof. Eventually parts will wear out and need to be replaced. A lot of 3D printers are designed so that parts like motors, belts, and fans are more or less exposed so that you can easily access them for maintenance. If your printer has a lot of coverings or panels on it, or is in an enclosure, then it’ll be a little harder to change things out when you need to.
For the most part, things tend not to break all at once. This makes it easier to figure out what went wrong and what needs to be replaced. It’s usually pretty easy to tell if something is loose and needs to be tightened, or if a part starts making noise and needs to be oiled. Maintenance is something that you don’t have to learn all about at first, just the basics.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to get started with 3D printing then I say go for it. You don’t need to know much as a beginner, but there is a lot that you can learn along the way. There are bound to be mistakes and problems along the way, but those are all learning experiences that will help you to improve.